Let me begin by saying that I don’t get
way down south to Sudbury and North Bay on my sled very often... but here’s what I know.
The C-Trail is very good running this year, south of Timmins to Shining Tree. It follows either major forest access roads or power transmission lines and is relatively quick. There is an excellent alternate, L-143, that could be marked on one of your maps
BUT it is all messed up this year with an extensive log haul. I’ve never ridden the C-Trail any further south than the intersection of Trail C-206-D, preferring to bypass Sudbury altogether. This is the first year in the last 5 that they’ve had decent snow closer to Sudbury.
If you’re worried about accommodations, there are two (at least) great lodges along C-206-D; Rocky’s on Lake Wanapitei and The Sportsman on Lake Kukagami. I’ve stayed many times at Three Bears Camp south of Shining Tree. C-206-D is twisty in spots but a fun ride. One year in a heavy snowstorm I ran out of gas one mile short of The Sportsman coming from Three Bears ..
BUT .. sleds are far more fuel efficient these days.
From the C-206-D intersection with the D-Trail over to the A-Trail at Tilden Lake, about a third of it is on an old railway bed and after Crystal Falls (east bound) it runs the full length of two major lakes, Chebogomog and Tomiko. In other words, the D-Trail is
very quick.
Finally, a few years ago, the clubs got together in District 14 to come up with a mileage chart for long distance touring that you may find useful. The address for it on the web is ...
http://tata-bestsnowmobiling.com/images/mileagechart1.gif